This blog continues my effort to chronicle my writing life, my efforts to market my work, and now my life as co-owner of a small press. I use this blog to explore the thoughts, feelings, and very nature of being an author and a publisher. I am the author of 5 detective novels, 4 action thrillers and a marketing manual. I am also the editorial director of Intrigue Publishing. I am active in local writer’s organizations and co-founded the Creatures, Crimes & Creativity conference.

Saturday, October 31, 2015

Many writers I know use
various holidays as inspiration for their writing. I’ve written
Christmas-themed stories, and stories inspired by what the New Year brings or
why Veterans Day is important. But Halloween is the worst holiday for me and I
think lots of other fiction writers, just because of who and what we are.

For most people
Halloween is a time of make-believe. We laugh and make fun of what’s frightening,
and dress up as other people (or things.) It’s all in fun and nobody takes it
seriously. Except…

Some of us are cursed
with too much imagination. Writers really can imagine those pranks being real -
those demons might actually be there. A stroll thru a graveyard might make most
of you giggle nervously. For some of us, it could be a truly horror-inducing
experience. That’s because we can’t help but imagine an real encounter with the
undead, or a ghost, or a serial killer.

So if your traditions on
this night include telling scary stories in the shadows – playing scary pranks –
or watching The Exorcist with special effects added – you might want to leave
your author friends out. Or maybe just me.

BUT if you want to READ
something appropriate for this holiday, I can recommend some writers who will
be at the Creatures, Crimes & Creativity Con next year:

Start with Alexandra
Sokoloff: THE HARROWING was
nominated for both a Bram Stoker award (horror) and an Anthony award (mystery),
for Best First Novel. THE PRICE explores troubling questions of what people
will do for love, or personal survival, in the eerie setting of a Boston
hospital. THE UNSEEN centers on a team of psychology researchers who decide to
replicate a long-buried poltergeist investigation. In BOOK OF SHADOWS a Boston
homicide detective must join forces with a beautiful, mysterious witch from
Salem in a race to solve a Satanic killing.

Then move to Cerece Rennie Murphy: lovers of the paranormal will enjoy her
bestselling Order of the Seers trilogy -
a harrowing tale of people who can see the future.

Even Donna Andrews, known for her humorous mysteries, can give you a
chill in her Turing Hopper series, about an artificial intelligence that
actually solves murders. Creepy, right?

So pull up a good book, put on your mask and enjoy Halloween, even if it
IS the holiday that makes me want to stay inside with all the lights on.

Monday, October 26, 2015

So here I am again. I’m
within a week of the release of my next mystery novel, THE PYRAMID DECEPTION,
and I’m wondering as I always do at this point, if anyone wants to read the
book badly enough to pay for it.

With each release I
experiment with the marketing. I sent my previous Hannibal Jones novel to a ton
of writers and ended up with a long list of big-name blurbs. That tactic didn’t
move the needle on sales. I also recruited a street team, but that cost me more
free books than it sold. I did still send off review copies to lots of
reviewers.

This time I’ve posted
several samples on my Facebook page - – and worked Twitter more. I made my cover reveal an event. And I posted an
interview of Hannibal so people could get to know him.

I introduced the new
book to the book club crowd at the recent authors and readers weekend. I
offered it at a reduced price and sold quite a few copies. I’ve made sure it’s
available at Barnes & Noble and offered it to several private bookstores.
And I put the ebook version up for pre-order on Amazon. But mostly I rely on word of mouth to spur
early sales. I can only hope that fans of the Hannibal Jones mystery series
really are eager for more.

Of course, I can’t focus
on my book release the way most authors can. As a publisher I must divide my
focus. I cannot slight the new acquisitions we are shepherding into
publication, or our upcoming Young Adventurers anthology release, or the effort
to secure keynote speakers and guest authors for next year’s Creatures, Crimes
& Creativity Con. So my novel may not get the flashy opening our other
releases get.

Still I hold the thought
every author holds less than a week from his book’s official birth. What else
can I do? What last minute task have I overlooked or forgotten that could make
a difference to the success of this novel?

Monday, October 19, 2015

The event I attended
this last weekend - The Black Authors & Writers Rock Weekend - was one of those reader-oriented parties I try to be part of
every year. The concept is as simple as it is beautiful: bring a number of book
club members together with several authors so that they can get to know one
another. Sharon Lucas, the lady brave and ambitious enough to execute that
concept has wisely broken it into two parts. On Friday evening she offers a
cash bar and hor d’oeuvres to the roomful of avid readers and has the authors
present in a fairly formal way. This year I was lucky enough to be on a panel, “Men
of Literature” with five other successful writers who are book club
favorites:Dwayne Alexander Smith,EarlSewell, Brian W. Smith, RM Johnson, and Curtis Bunn. Their work deserves your
attention.

Then Saturday 40 or so
authors gathered for an all-day book fair, during which attendees enjoyed
panels in other rooms. With lunch we got a nice keynote address from Dwayne
Alexander Smith, author of 40 ACRES. It turned out to be a great place to
introduce my newest novel, and I signed quite a few for the roomful of
appreciative avid readers.

Everything I’ve said
above would be great for any kind of reader oriented literary con. But why do
we need a BLACK authors and readers weekend? When you pick up a mystery or
romance novel do you really care what the author looks like? Well, we can
debate whether or not anyone should, but the truth is, some people do. Some
readers prefer to read books by people who are part of their own culture. This event
had attendees from at least eight book clubs, all of whom were African American
women. The clubs were as much social groups as literary groups and much of
their reading is about Black culture in the 21st century.

It is also true that
some authors don’t want to speak to a general audience. Personally, I think
this is a mistake that limits an author’s progress, but some of the writers at
this event have proven that targeting an audience and giving them what they
want is one path to a certain level of success.

Another truth: books aimed at the African American reader rarely get the display space and
attention in bookstores that others get. Worse yet, all such books are often
lumped together and displayed with “street lit.” Trust me, none of the authors
at last weekend’s event were writing about thugs, drug dealers or hookers.

So to an extent it is a
vicious circle. Authors who don’t expect fair treatment in bookstores rely on
these book clubs to get the word out about their work, and the word-of-mouth
support of these book clubs really can make an author a success.

So I will continue to
attend Bouchercon and Thrillerfest, but I will also make sure I get to the
Black Authors and Readers Rock weekend. Because it lets me reach an important
audience who are not represented at the mainstream Cons.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Bouchercon isn’t just a
mystery fan conference. It’s an experience like no other. It absorbs two large
hotels. Programming fills four days. And with 1500 attendees it can give you
Disney World flashbacks when you’re lined up for a popular panel or to get a
book signed.

Many writers’ Cons are
designed for writers to learn and network. At Bouchercon fans outnumber writers
4 to 1. Of course, most of us writers are fans too. I still can’t get used to
having Heather Graham, John Gilstrap and Alifair Burke call me by name. I still get a little tongue-tied when I get to
chat with Karen Slaughter, Kathy Reichs and Alexandra Sokoloff. Those are the
best moments of the event.

The hour-long panels can
overwhelm you, not so much because of the content but because there are so many
choices. Seven different panels at any one time and all sound so
interesting. How do you choose between “Just
the facts: T

Police Procedural,” “The
Private Sector: Professional Investigations” and “Crime Mystery and the Far
East?” (Actually I bypassed them all to
see a panel called “Beyond Hammett, Chandler, MacDonald & Spillane” which
featured my pal Peter Rozovsky, plus Kevin Burton Smith and Laura Lippman.)

And then there were the
awards. The Anthony Award is voted on by the Bouchercon attendees and most of
the nominees attend. It’s fun to see who’s book is the most popular in 5
different categories. This year was a special kick as my friend Art Taylor won
for best short story.

Of course, some of the
best moments of the Con take place in the bar after the panels and ceremonies
are over. The hotel bar was way too noisy but they did have some interesting
specials. I had something called The Red Death and I have no idea what was in
it but it sure did the trick. Blood Spatter was less sweet but I swear it had
even more alcohol.

Meanwhile I, and the
other 2 principals of Intrigue Publishing, were hunting keynote speakers and
guests for next year’s Creatures, Crimes and Creativity Con. Networking galore
took place, and I’ll let you know how successful we were in a later blog.

Monday, October 5, 2015

The Creatures, Crimes & Creativity (C3) Con is over but that doesn't mean the work is over. In the military we called the next step a hot wash. It's that meeting where you go over everything you did during an operation, critique your actions and the results, and make decisions about what you could do better next time. Which panels were hits and which were misses? How should those panels run? (It's clear now that panels do need moderators.) What started too soon, or ran too late? Were the name tags the right size? How was the food? There are so many details involved in making a 3-day Con happen.

Once the decision was made to do it again next year, we had to confirm a venue, and dates. We're on the hunt for keynote speakers and local guests. We have panels to choose and a menu to put together. Not to mention all the work involved in turning last year's web site into this year's web site. We even decided to set up a Facebook page to make it easier for people to give us suggestions and keep up with Con happenings thru the year.

This year there are only ten days between the Con Intrigue Publishing puts on and one that we all attend - Bouchercon. That involves preperation too. Thursday through Sunday we'll be fishing for C3 keynote speakers and attendees among the 1,000 authors, fans,
publishers, reviewers, booksellers and editors who will be in Raleigh NC for that 4-day event. We must go over the schedule to figure out which panels we'll get the most out of (7 at a time over 4 day!) Plus I'm on a panel Friday. It's called "Research: Alcohol, Drugs, Weapons & the Psychology of the Insane." As you might guess, that calls for a little research itself, so more prep.

Plus, I'm promoting my novel that willt be released next month, Intrigue's anthology that will be released in December, rewriting my next novel, and there's the usual day-to-day business of running a publishing company.

So it's a very full life in between the two Cons. But I'm not complaining. It's like the working space between two great vacations!

About Me

I am the author of 5 detective novels in the Hannibal Jones series - Blood and Bone, Collateral Damage, The Troubleshooter, Damaged Goods and Russian Roulette, plus 4 action adventure novels, The Payback Assignment, The Orion Assignment, The Piranha Assignment and the Ice Woman Assignment. I'm active in several local writers’ organizations - a past president of the Maryland Writers Association and past vice-president of the Virginia Writers Club. By day I handle media relations for the Defense Department. For more than a decade the American Forces Network carried my radio and television news reports. I've settled in Upper Marlboro, Maryland and launched Intrigue Publishing.